The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the analysis of data, including seismic and other data, such as to identify features of interest.
Seismic data is collected and used for evaluating underground structures or closures, as well as other features that might otherwise not be discernible. Such seismic data may be useful in searching for mineral resources (such as hydrocarbons, coal, metals, water, and so forth) that are located underground and which may be otherwise difficult to localize with other remote sensing techniques or to explore just by drilling and excavating. In practice, the seismic data is derived based on the propagation of seismic waves through the various strata forming earth. In particular, the propagation of seismic waves may be useful in localizing the various edges and boundaries associated with different strata within the earth and with the surfaces of various formations or structures that may be present underground.
The seismic waves used to generate seismic data may be created using any number of mechanisms, including explosives, air guns, or other mechanisms capable of creating vibrations or seismic waves capable of spreading through the Earth's subsurface. The seismic waves may reflect, to various degrees, at the boundaries or transitions between strata or structures, and these reflected seismic waves are detected and suitably processed to form a set of seismic data that may be used to examine the subsurface area being investigated.
One challenge that arises in the context of these seismic investigations is in the interpretation and analysis of the large three-dimensional data sets that can be generated in a seismic survey project. In particular, seismic interpretation is a subjective process driven by the experience of the interpreter and the availability of software tools. Traditional computer software applications mostly provide visualization, feature extraction via digital signal processing, and workflow integration capabilities. There is not, at present, a computational framework that leverages the expert knowledge and sophisticated pattern recognition techniques to identify complex geo-objects from multiple seismic attributes.